Cork connects to Hibernia Express transatlantic fibre cable

Hibernia Express, the first transatlantic cable to be deployed in 12 years, has reached Cork shores, connecting Ireland to a network of fibre cables between the US and the UK.

Upon completion, the Hibernia Express cable will connect Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Slough in the UK. It will deliver speeds of up to 100Gbps. The network of cables – the laying of which was undertaken by TE SubCom – will span 4,600km.

Hibernia Networks’ Hibernia Express project was announced in September 2010, and it is expected to be brought online in September of this year.

“Our customers are now just weeks away from having access to the most advanced submarine cable system on the market,” Omar Altaji, CCO of Hibernia Networks, said in a release. “Financial firms, web-centric companies, media players and traditional telecom service providers alike will benefit from the speed, diversity and scalability that Hibernia Express brings to the transatlantic corridor.”

Ships delivering Hibernia Express to Cork. Photo: Business Wire

The plan to add a spur linking Ireland to the cable, with the cable coming ashore at Garrettstown, was revealed in December 2014. At the time, IDA representatives said the cable would significantly enhance Ireland’s – and Cork’s – position as an optimum location for data-intensive tech companies.

Tech giants Apple, EMC and IBM already call Cork home, and the connection to Hibernia Express can only make the city and county more attractive to foreign and domestic tech businesses.